SEX

    ( Got your attention, didn't I.)

     In the Author's Notes for White Horse, Black Raven I wrote about the virtues I attributed to the Alemanni.  One of the reasons I chose those five virtues - honor, honesty, fidelity, loyalty, and courage - is because of the writings of Tacitus, the Roman historian of the first century AD. His Germania is the only known work describing the attitudes and daily actions of the Germanic tribes albeit one hundred plus years before the Alemanni became a known people.
     The choice of fidelity comes from Tacitus' description of the Germans' attitudes toward sex. Tacitus spends three chapters on the subject extolling the tribal custom of remaining chaste until marriage - both men and women. Apparently premarital sex was not allowed and adultery was all but unheard of. 
     In Chapter 18, Tacitus writes that a man took only one wife unless he was of the highest rank and therefore pressed with many offers of marriage as political alliances.  Woman went into a marriage as full partners with their husbands, sharing all that came to them, both good and bad.  A dowry was brought to the bride's family and she in turn gave her groom similar gifts.
     In Chapter 19, Tacitus writes that adultery was severely punished and that "no one in Germany finds vice amusing, or calls it 'up-to-date' to seduce and be seduced."  Only virgins may marry and once married may not do so again even if they survive their husbands.
     Chapter 20 speaks of the physical maturity of young men and women when married and the importance of children in the German culture.

     Tacitus apparently used this information to make a social comment on what he apparently considered to be the immorality of Roman society.  One can tell from the tone of his writing that he did not approve of the loose sexual morals of his own culture.  It must be remembered that histories such as his were usually written to be read out loud to audiences in small social gatherings.  He would have used the opportunity to chide his fellows Romans on their loose morals by comparing them unfavorably with 'barbarians'.
     So both Berand and Inge would have been virgins on their wedding night - a little romanticized, perhaps, but within the realm of possibility according to Tacitus.

The King's Chain: White Horse, Black Raven Now Available in paperback and on Kindle. Visit my Author's Page at amazon.com/author/smglover

THE KING'S CHAIN

A story of love and hate, loyalty and betrayal, honor and deceit.

And above all, courage.

BOOK ONE: WHITE HORSE, BLACK RAVEN

            Don't let them take you alive! With this cry for victory or a glorious death in battle, the Alemanni warriors charge at their enemy. The year is AD 257, and the Crisis of the Third Century is about to get a whole lot worse for the Roman army.

        It is a time of upheaval in the Imperial Roman Empire. The Alemanni, a Germanic tribe, have pushed the Roman troops out of the territory they want for themselves. While usurpers claim Roman provinces and the young son of the emperor is brutally murdered, Berand, and Alemanni warrior destined for greatness, is gravely wounded in battle. It is up to the maiden he loves to heal him or follow him in death.

        But the Romans aren't the only enemy. The Alemanni are attacked by some of their own and are forced down a path of murder and revenge as they continue to battle Imperial Rome.

        In this novel set in an historical time, I bring to life the lives and traditions of a little-known Germanic tribe in a world where women are revered and men live to die in battle. Treachery must be dealt with and traditions will need to change to assure the survival and the freedom of a courageous and fiercely independent people. 

Fortress Hill

The Fortress Hill

This is the center of Berand's physical world and spiritual being. It is halfway between the place he was born and the bridge over the Rhine at Basilia, the gateway to his expression as warrior. Berand's father is buried on the hill as will be others of equal importance to him.

There are three runes in the picture. The obvious one is berkana, the 'b' in the tree roots. Berkana is the rune of rebirth and renewal, sanctuary and becoming. The other two runes are hidden in the branches of the two guardian trees.

INSPIRATION

     I have told many people I am writing a book. They are usually interested (or polite) enough to ask what it is about. When I tell them, most ask why that time period and that subject matter. That is an curious story.

     I love classical opera. In 1990, The New York Metropolitan Opera produced and televised Wagner's Ring Cycle, a series of 4 operas over 4 consecutive nights. It is based on one of the old sagas, the Volsunga Saga to be exact. After seeing the operas I read the saga and loved the heroism, the tragedy, and how small acts can result in terrible consequences.

     So I got to thinking (and my friends and family will tell you that is a dangerous thing!): Such heroism and tragedy must have had their origins in real people and circumstances. All legends have the element of truth in them. There was someone who was important enough, or did something important enough, to cause stories and songs to be composed about them. The facts were embellished or lost over time, but someone got the ball rolling, as it were. What if one were to write a story telling more of the fact than the legend?

     The Volsunga Saga was based on the Burgundians, a German tribe that occupied the middle Rhine from about the first century AD to about the fifth century AD. I did some research and found they were not very interesting. There was little written about them and they did not have much interaction with the Romans. In my research I came upon another Germanic tribe of the same era, the Alemanni, and I instantly felt a connection.

     I switched to researching the Alemanni, not an easy task as there was no internet or online book sales. Fortunately, I had just finished up a Bachelor's Degree at a local university and still had access to their library. Still, there wasn't a whole lot of information available. Being stubborn, I wrote a rough draft anyway.

     I had to put the project aside for twenty-two years; my career in teaching took all my time. I retired in 2009 and revived my writing in 2014. My connection to the Alemanni was stronger than ever. When I am focused, I can hear their conversations, the din of battle, and the noise of their gatherings. I can smell the horses, the forests, and the blood on the battlefield. I have written about only twelve years of their history, but I know their story for the next five hundred years. 

     I am glad to get the first book out of my system. The second book is also written and should be published around the first of September. The outline for book three is in my head. The story is evolving into a series of trilogies, each one centered around a particular hero. Berand's trilogy is the first.